White House Discussing $1.6 Trill. Covid Relief Package with Congress
What Happened:
After House Democrats unveiled a new $2.2 trillion Covid-19 relief package proposal on Monday, the White House said on Thursday that they might be willing to negotiate a $1.6 trillion package.
The WH package would include a $400 per week pandemic jobless benefit as well as additional funding for state and local governments.
Although this is a partial compromise by the White House, it seems unlikely that House Democrats will agree to it. Democrats came down from $3.4 trillion to $2.2 trillion in their updated proposal on Monday. Meanwhile, the White House proposal increased from $1.4 trillion to $1.6 trillion.
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the new offer still fell short of what was needed for the American public.
Said White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany, the speaker was "not being serious" in negotiations. McEnany added, "We raised our offer to $1.6 trillion. It’s one that she is is not interested in.”
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin and Pelosi are scheduled to talk by phone early Thursday afternoon.
The Trump administration is pushing for an agreement to be in place pre-election.
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Photo Credit: United States Congress